Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Thin bits of metal and bright blue light. Including glass & trim.

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gutmeg
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Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Post by gutmeg »

Hi All
Hope all well with everybody.
A question for all you T25 owners, I have a 1984 T25 Holdsworth pop-top conversion 1.9 standard petrol. After rain, I have noticed that when the rear hatch/lid is opened to access the back of the van water drips out the inside, approx up to say quarter of a tea cup. I have spoken to a specialist VW camper garage and a few owners over time and they all seem to say "they all do that".
Is there anything that can be done to stop this does anyone know?
Obviously if the water is left standing, and van is left outdoors it will eventually rust through as will be continually wet/ damp.
The rear window seal has been replaced, and am fairly sure does not let water in, I have no idea where the water enters and runs down inside the hatch. Has anyone any ideas on this, or has done a fix on this that seems to work.
Thanks in advance for any replies ref this, as much appreciated.
Great Forum and great advice.
Regards
LLoyd

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1664
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Re: Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Post by 1664 »

If you are absolutely sure it isn't the actual seal then there are only a few other possibilities really. The hinges (doubtful) or there is a hole(s) somewhere out of general sight (also doubtful).

However, if your tailgate has a heated rear window and/or rear wipe/wash then there are the rubber wiring gaitors at the top left and right of the tailgate, left contains the heated rear window wiring, right contains the wiring and water hose to the wash/wipe, these could be split or have parted company with the metal work, Then there is the hose to the washer nozzle and the nozzle itself (these have been known to allow rain in) or the wiper spindle itself. If your rear washer is blocked then if you try and use it then water might be being forced past the union between the hose and washer jet.

If you dont have any the above then frankly I would be looking very closely at that window seal new or not.

I was unaware that "they all do that", mine's as dry as a camel's chuff
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bigherb
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Re: Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Post by bigherb »

Not normal to have water ingress into the tailgate. Only from poor window seal and corrosion to the window aperture or the rubber sealing grommet at the top left of the tailgate for the tailgate wiring (the hole is there even if no wiring is fitted).
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Re: Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Post by T25 Newbie »

I saw someone on farcebook had the same issue and found it was leaking through the VW badge!
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Mr Bean
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Re: Rear Door on T25 rain collector

Post by Mr Bean »

I would first remove the panel on the inside to see if you can see tell tale water trails so you could de-rust and rust proof it then fix the problem before the inevitable rust bubble appears on the outside.

Then being a bit of a pragmatist regardless of whether I found the source or not I would investigate the possibility of drilling a couple of drainage holes at the bottom if a place is available which would drain any collected water to the weather side of the door seal.

My side door had to be virtually rebuilt at the bottom as the somewhat feeble drainage holes appeared to have been blocked for years.
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